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Notre Dame Baseball

Game Thread | (Doubleheader) No. 13 North Carolina at Notre Dame

April 2, 2023
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No. 13 North Carolina (19-7, 5-3) at Notre Dame (4-6, 13-10)


When: April 2nd

Time: 12:00 PM ET | 3:30 PM ET

Where: Frank Eck Stadium | South Bend, Ind.

Watch: ACC Network Extra


QUICK FACTS

- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 12-8.

- The Irish are 7-3 against the Tar Heels at Frank Eck. 

- North Carolina used a 6-run explosion in the top of the 9th to erase an 8-4 deficit and take game one on Friday. 

PROBABLE STARTERS

 

SCHOOL NAME RECORD (APPEARANCES) ERA IP STRIKEOUTS
North Carolina RHP Connor Bovair 2-1 2.59 31.1 27
Notre Dame LHP Jack Findlay 4-0 2.57 28.0 44

 

SCHOOL NAME RECORD (APPEARANCES) ERA IP STRIKEOUTS
North Carolina RHP Jake Knapp 3-0 3.42 26.1 38
Notre Dame RHP Jackson Dennies 0-2 3.68 22.0 23

 

WHAT TO WATCH 

- Notre Dame used four home runs on Friday to take a commanding 8-4 lead heading into the final frame, but the Tar Heels bats came alive on the reliable Carter Bosch. North Carolina entered the 9th with just four hits, but that quickly changed as the Tar Heels recorded six hits, including a grand slam to take the lead. 

The inning was an outlier, yet it doesn’t change the fact it was one of those demoralizing losses as the Irish were in full control of the game. It will be interesting to see how Shawn Stiffler’s team reacts on Sunday afternoon.

- Stiffler does have an issue in his lineup right now as Jack Penney and Jack Zyska are really struggling at the plate. The Irish need Penney’s glove at third, but where does he fall in the lineup? It’s a tough call. For Zyska, it’s a tough call as he’s proven he can play at a high level and the Irish definitely needs his home run power in the lineup. Yet, Zyska has just two doubles, one home run and six hits in 15 games. The Irish really need both to recapture the focus and production from the end of last year.

- On the mound, Blake Hely got off to a rough start, but rebounded to finish very strong on Friday. If he can cut down on the walks and hit batters, Notre Dame will be in better shape. Radek Birkholz had a strong showing as well and it was much needed for his confidence. He has all the talent in the world and as a sophomore, he’s still growing. Ryan Lynch had another good outing as he saw one batter and struck him out on three pitches. Lynch stepping his game up could be extremely beneficial to the pen. 

- Notre Dame will have its core ready to go on Sunday as Jack Findlay and Jackson Dennies will get the starting nods while Aiden Tyrell, Will Mercer and Caden Spivey will be read to come out of the pen. Sammy Cooper pitched the final three outs on Friday, so he could be used today if needed too. 

- For Notre Dame, Sunday comes down to scoring runs. The Irish are facing another powerful lineup and will have to score even with having its best arms on the bump. 

OFFENSIVE STATS (Entering the series)

STAT North Carolina Notre Dame
Batting Avg. .298 .211
Runs 220 111
Hits 258 149
2B 58 27
3B 3 3
Home Runs 51 19
RBI 205 101
SLG% .548 .339
Walks 156 84
Hit by Pitch 43 45
Strikeouts 173 205
OB% .426 .331

PITCHING STATS (Entering the series) 

STAT North Carolina Notre Dame
ERA 3.93 4.36
Hits 192 167
Runs 119 112
ER 97 92
Walks 101 80
Strikeouts 239 191
Opponent Batting Avg. .226 .233

Notre Dame Lineup

NAME POSITION BATTING AVERAGE
Jack Penney 3B .190
Zack Prajzner SS .282
Carter Putz 1B .289
Brooks Coetzee RF .250
Danny Neri C .246
Vinny Martinez DH .147
DM Jefferson LF .212
Estevan Moreno 2B .149
TJ Williams CF .197

North Carolina Lineup

NAME POSITION BATTING AVERAGE
Vance Honeycutt CF .272
Mac Horvath RF .298
Jackson Van De Brake 2B .372
Tomas Frick C .340
Johnny Castagnozzi 3B .375
Casey Cook RF .310
Alberto Osuna DH .222
Patrick Alvarez LF .333
Colby Wilkerson SS .287

Vineyard Vines Navy Notre Dame Fighting Irish Bradley Stripe Sankaty Polo

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Game Thread | (Doubleheader) No. 13 North Carolina at Notre Dame

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